atactl(8) - NetBSD Manual Pages

ATACTL(8)               NetBSD System Manager's Manual               ATACTL(8)


NAME

     atactl - a program to manipulate ATA (IDE) devices


SYNOPSIS

     atactl device command [arg [...]]


DESCRIPTION

     atactl allows a user or system administrator to issue commands to and
     otherwise control devices which reside on standard IDE and ATA con-
     trollers.  It is used by specifying a device to manipulate, the command
     to perform, and any arguments the command may require.


DEVICE COMMANDS

     The following commands may be used on IDE and ATA devices.  Note that not
     all devices support all commands.

     identify

     Identify the specified device, displaying the device's vendor, product,
     revision strings, and the device's capabilities.

     idle

     Place the specified device into Idle mode.  This mode may consume less
     power than Active mode.

     standby

     Place the specified device into Standby mode.  This mode will consume
     less power than Idle mode.

     sleep

     Place the specified device into Sleep mode.  This mode will consume less
     power than Standby mode, but requires a device reset to resume operation.
     Typically the wd(4) driver performs this reset automatically, but this
     should still be used with caution.

     setidle idle-timer

     Places the specified device into Idle mode, and sets the Idle timer to
     idle-timer seconds.  A value of 0 will disable the Idle timer.

     setstandby standby-timer

     Places the specified device into Standby mode, and sets the Standby timer
     to standby-timer seconds.  A value of 0 will disable the Standby timer.

     checkpower

     Will print out if the device is in Active, Idle, or Standby power manage-
     ment mode.

     smart [enable | disable | status | selftest-log]

     Controls SMART feature set of the specified device.  SMART stands for
     Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology.  It provides an
     early warning system by comparing subtle operation characteristics to
     those determined in vendor testing to precede device failures.

     enable

     Enables access to SMART capabilities within the device.  Prior to being
     enabled, a SMART capable device neither monitors nor saves SMART
     attribute values.  The state of SMART, either enabled or disabled, will
     be preserved by the device across power cycles.

     disable

     Disables access to SMART capabilities within the device.  Attribute val-
     ues will be saved, and will no longer be monitored.

     status

     Reports whether SMART is supported by the device, and whether SMART is
     enabled on the device (can only be determined on ATA6 or better devices).
     If SMART is enabled, then a table of attribute information is printed.
     Attributes are the specific performance or calibration parameters that
     are used in analyzing the status of the device.  The specific set of
     attributes being used and the identity of these attributes is vendor spe-
     cific and proprietary.

     Attribute values are used to represent the relative reliability of indi-
     vidual performance or calibration parameters.  The valid range of
     attribute values is from 1 to 253 decimal.  Lower values indicate that
     the analysis algorithms being used by the device are predicting a higher
     probability of a degrading or faulty condition.

     Each attribute value has a corresponding threshold limit which is used
     for direct comparison to the attribute value to indicate the existence of
     a degrading or faulty condition.  The numerical value of the attribute
     thresholds are determined by the device manufacturer through design and
     reliability testing and analysis.  Each attribute threshold represents
     the lowest limit to which its corresponding attribute value can equal
     while still retaining a positive reliability status.

     If the crit field is "yes" then negative reliability of this attribute
     predicts imminent data loss.  Otherwise it merely indicates that the
     intended design life period of usage or age has been exceeded.  The col-
     lect field indicates whether this attribute is updated while the device
     is online.  The reliability field indicates whether the attribute value
     is within the acceptable threshold.

     selftest-log Print the selftest log.


SEE ALSO

     ioctl(2), wd(4)


HISTORY

     The atactl command first appeared in NetBSD 1.4.


AUTHORS

     The atactl command was written by Ken Hornstein.  It was based heavily on
     the scsictl(8) command written by Jason R. Thorpe.


BUGS

     The output from the identify command is rather ugly.

NetBSD 2.1                     December 20, 2003                    NetBSD 2.1